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Posted In News
May 16, 2025
AVMCC, GRA, IKEJA, LAGOS

WE HAVE SEEN THE HANDS OF GOD IN OUR DIOCESE- BISHOP ODEDEJI

Preparing for the Synod of the Diocese of Lagos West is not the easiest of assignments. The Diocesan who presides over the Synod pays attention to the tiniest of details, leaving no room for error. It could, therefore, be tiring. But, despite his very tight schedule, The Right Revd. Dr. James Olusola Odedeji made time to receive The Revd Mobolade Omonijo and Bro.Tunji Oguntuase of Synod News for this interview Did he need a questionnaire? No? Did he want any area or.topic.left.out? No. This is not quite surprising, having been in the ordained ministry for more than three decades, and obtained three academic degrees. In all things, he attributes the successes recorded so far to God and says there will always be more work to do for the One who made the ultimate sacrifice that we may be reconciled to our maker. Excerpts.

My lord, it is again the time of the year when the whole Diocese comes to take very important decisions at the Synod. What unique things should we look forward to at the Synod this year?

Thank you very much for this opportunity. Indeed, the Diocese of Lagos West has come a long way since it was created in 1999. I'm proud to have been part of it from the very beginning. I thank God that I'm still here. I can boldly say that we have recorded successes over the years, but we must admit that the work of the church does not finish. We are expected to continue to build until the owner of the church returns. That is the Great Commission, ‘Go ye into the world and preach the gospel, baptising them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and teaching them to observe all that I have commanded” with the abiding promise that He will be with us. So,as long as we are on this side of eternity, we will continue to build and leave good legacies that we have enjoyed. It s Ike John 4: 37-38, Jesus said, you are reaping where you have not sown. So, you also must build now, so that those coming after you will enter into your rest.

This year s Synod, being the 26th in the series of of the Synod years, we are going to refocus and restrategise on how we can do things better,ensuring that the gospel of Christ is preached. We will also appraise the job that we have done in the past and see how we can bring in new things that will promote the Great Commission committed to us by the Lord.

We know that the decision to keep the same set of officials to assispt you in running the Diocese in the past 26 years must have been deliberate. What are the benefits we have derived from that?

I must be honest with you, the question has been coming to us from various persons and angles. The first thing to note is when someone s has not outspent his relevance, you don't change a winning team. The duty of those people they are referring to is to have a succession plan. I do that a lot with my priests. I have some strategic churches and I have a way of planning ahead that if this one retires or is transferred, who would be there. I find them still very useful. A good example is my Chancellor who is going to clock age 90 years soon. The brain is still intact. If you call my Chancellor by 2 am, he is sharp. We still tap from his reservoir of knowledge. He knows so much about the church. You may say he is old and bring in a younger man who would be a thorn in your flesh. You don't change a winning team. Take the treasury, the kind of work that Dr. Toyin Okeowo is doing- the man is in the market and knows how to manage and make more money for the Diocese. He has brought in some young people like Wale Adegbite, Seyi Osunkeye, Segun Akintemi, Femi Jayesimi. These vibrant young men are also coming after him. So, when people ask me when is your Chancellor retiring, I tell them he is not a problem of my administration.

This is your 13th year of being in the saddle as the Bishop of this Diocese. How has the office, with its enormous duties, impacted your life personally? What has being the Bishop of the Diocese of Lagos West taught you?

I will say that I have been so much privileged, I have been so much exposed by being much more involved in the programmes of the Church of Nigeria, the Ecclesiastical Province of Lagos and even the Christian community generally such that I could influence the community much more positively than when I was not elected the Bishop of this Diocese. I can also tell you that I have been able to add to what I inherited. Take this Bishopscourt for example. It is the pride of the Diocese, acknowledged throughout the Church of Nigeria and even outside. Now, the Cathedral is going up. It has been on the drawing board for so long, but God said it is time. Two or three secondary schools have also been established and the women organisation has also been doing well. If you get to Adefiola Adebiyi Christian Centre today, you will be proud of their efforts. So, the 13 years has given us the platform to add more values to what we inherited.

What about your clergy, sir?

When I came on board, I spoke in parables and challenged the clergy to build up themselves and return to school. In these 13 years, I can tell you proudly that I have three professors and about 30 doctorate degree holders among them. More than 100 clergy men have upgraded themselves academically and now have Master s degrees. These are things that give a leader joy, because I had only Masters when I became the Bishop, but I obtained my Ph.D. I also encouraged my wife so that the women wing, too, would be challenged. Today, you can talk of the twife of the Bishop being a Ph.D holder, the wife of the Dean being a Ph.D holder, Professor Mrs. Odumosu being a Ph.d holder and Revd Olayiwola s wife being a Ph.D holder. There are about 18 other clergy wives in the universities for their third degrees. The women give scholarships every year, just as Chief Olusegun Osunkeye does to students in the sciences and the Cathedral gives about 100 to brilliant students. And, in fact, six of the students made first class in their various disciplines. We are proud of these as a Diocese . I can proudly say that we have seen the hands of God in our affairs as a Diocese. He rules in the affairs of men and even when you have not seen His eyes, we can see His hands. I can confirm that we have seen God s hands in the affairs of the Diocese of Lagos West. He is on charge.

My lord, your people will like to be informed about the status of the proposed new Dioceses being carved out of this Diocese?

Well, it is no longer news that the embargo on the creation of new Dioceses has been lifted by the Primate of all Nigeria. We, by the special grace of God, mooted the idea that two Dioceses can be created from here. With my Chancellor, we went to those areas such as Church of Pentecost as proposed Cathedral, and Amuwo Odofin as well as Iba archdeaconries. We also visited Ikorodu. As we speak, the application for the proposed Diocese of Lagos South West, that is Festac, is at the last stage. The same cannot be said of Ikorodu yet.

Obviously, Nigeria is at the crossroads, some people will even say it is in the doldrums. If you have direct access to the President, being a leader close to the grassroots yourself, what would be your advice? What s your evaluation of the situation on ground? What should be done?

I would tell him that everything goes up or comes down by the leadership style. I'm aware of his good intention to make all the difference, but the people you are leading will not see your efforts, they want to see the results. The most basic result they want is food on their table. It is said that a hungry man is an angry man and an angry man could be a mad man. If I meet him tomorrow, I will let him know that there is hunger in the land. Like he said when he came in, you must allow the poor to breathe. My own principle of life is simple: live and let others live. When a poor man cannot eat, the rich man cannot sleep. Yes, we are all aware that Nigeria is a complex country- three different parts that are hardly on the same page. But, the leadership should make food security a priority, our healthcare is in a bad shape and the environment is toxic. These are things I will make known to him if I meet him.

What are the lingering effects of the COVID-19 epidemic? Is the Church now out of the negative effects?

We have not been able to sheke off the effects, even though it is better now. It impacted the church economically, emotionally, even infrastructurally. It made many people spiritually lazy. Worship is.serious.work, but after COVID, many now prefer to get connected online, and that has adverse effect on the church. By His grace, things are getting better; the culture of worship is returning.

What do you consider the assignment of believers in our age? What more should the church be doing?

As is the case in our theme for the year, we are chosen to be beacons of light. We are to bring others to the fold of Christ. When I went to the theological college in 1989, I went as a very young man.and those of us in that category, raring to go, were wondering what would have happened to the church by the time we were through with our training. Here we are more than three decades after, the church is still standing strong, in fact stronger than it was. So, if we focus on the tribulations being faced, the hearts would faint, but our Lord has forewarned that there would be tribulations in this world and we should be of good cheer because He has overcome the world.God.

Your last word, sir.

I will say that my people should persevere. The owner of the church is not asleep. Our Diocese, the Anglican Church are in the hands of the living God.